Moonlight
by Charmed-Jinx
Summary: Takes place almost immediately after book one. Kat is confused about Peeta and receives some news about what the Capitol could be up to. Romance ensues! Rated T for safety...with a possible M for later chapters. SEQUEL, ABANDONED, NOW OUT!
1. Escape

I do not own this story, its characters. I merely daydream about the world Suzanne Collins has created and like to play with the story some on my own.

Rated T for later content, and possibly M beyond that.

_Well this is just great. _I thought to myself as I strolled down the streets of District 12. By myself. _Definitely not how I thought _that _would go._ I continued walking, and avoiding everyone's mixed stares as I made my way through the streets, head mostly down. I wasn't sure what I expected when I returned hom after the games. It seems like the people here have mixed feelings about my actions with the berries, and the punishment I was sure to draw toward me from the Capitol. I had an odd sense that everyone wanted to scream in excitement with me, and celebrate to their heart's content. But thanks the Capitol, I bet their scared of showing any excitement until they know what my punishment's going to be. _No doubt they're watching me all too closely, just like at the games. Who knows? I could have a million cameras pointed on me in this very instant and not even know what the Capitol might be seeing. I'm so damn sick of their stupid games!!! _

This morning was one of those mornings where Haymitch warned me strongly that I had to keep my emotions in check. It's been exactly four days since I was first allowed to see my family, Gale, and everyone else that was remotely excited to see me. _And even then, I don't think Gale was too happy, given the circumstances,_ I thought to myself. Sure, Gale was one of the first ones there to greet me when I was escorted home, but the moment I saw him, I was positive his being there had everything to do with expectations and duty, rather than actually wanting to see me. It was an awkward reunion with him, and definitely not what I expected. But can you blame him? He saw everything I was doing during the games and I got the strong feeling that he was not impressed by my actions. The look I'd seen on his face when reunited with him was one I hadn't seen in a very long time. He was disappointed in me. _Is there possibly anyone who isn't?_

Prim. She was happy to see me, but she was too young to understand the politics surrounding the end of the games and what I'd done. She was genuinely happy that I'd come home, where everyone else I wasn't quite so sure about. My mother didn't say too much to me, just that she was happy I came back in one piece. Over the last few days, I'd actually come to dread the moment I saw my family and Gale again. After Haymitch gave me the heads-up about the Capitol being very upset with my actions, I felt nervous all the time. But I didn't expect _this._ Everyone I ever new was afraid to look at me.

This morning I met with Haymitch once again, and got filled in on what to expect with the Capitol from here on out. In not so many words he told me to watch my back, and that I'd be stupid to think I could trust anyone. _Well happy homecoming, Katniss!!_ The reason why I was expected to keep my emotions in check today was to prevent any spies from the Capitol from catching on that I was very angry with them and actually proud of how I humiliated them. _This is rediculous. How can I let them have so much of a thumb over me?!_ But of course, I wasn't allowed to do a thing about it. At least not for a while, when things might possibly calm down and I can get my normal, miserable life back.

And then there was Peeta, still angry as ever with me of course. How did I come to screw things up so bad this time? He was there with Haymitch this morning as well, and didn't even try to make eye contact with me. At least I didn't think so. I tried to keep my head down as much as possible while Haymitch went on on his tangent about the Capitol and how careful we needed to be. I had a feeling Peeta was only invited so he'd at least have a heads-up about what I was being told, so that when questioned, he could pretend to be on the same page as me.

Haymitch had finally dismissed Peeta to go home to his family for the rest of the day, but held me back to explain a few things. "I only did it for your own good," he'd told me. Of course, he was referring to the trickery he had me under throughout the whole games. Manipulating me into showing affection toward Peeta so that we could win our sponsors over and keep ourselves alive. I still wasn't sure what he meant, and now I regret even asking him.

* * * * *

"What do you mean you did it for my own good? Did you think I wouldn't be able to survive out there on my own? I had things completely under control until you started filling my head with _nonsense!!_ And what good did it do? Peeta hates me now, my own mother acts rather strange, and my best friend probably doesn't want anything to do with me!!" I tried so hard to not throw a fit right there and hit him with something. I was so angry at him for what he did, there were almost no words to describe it.

"Katniss, I merely gave you the push you needed, but most of your actions were purely your own." He said.

I just stared back at him with as much of a death glare as I could muster. "You played with my emotions, just so you can enjoy a stupid game of survival of the fittest." My tone was darker than I'd expected, but I couldn't help it. I was angry and hurt by all of it. "And now we find ourselves in _trouble_. With the Capitol!! How could you have possibly not seen this coming?"

I could tell Haymitch was ready to make his point. I could see it blazing in his eyes. And I knew it was going to make me feel stupid once again.

"Katniss, do you actually believe I had control over your feelings for Peeta? I don't think so. That was all you. And you'd do well not to deny it yourself. I only gave you the push you needed to have something to fight for, for a reason to stay alive out there. I guided you at first, yes, but how you solved the problems with Peeta and his sickness was all your doing. Your sponsors did not respond to you gushing over Peeta. Those feelings were not a game! What they saw in your eyes when you watched over Peeta were genuine. You were fighting so hard to keep him alive that it kept you alive as well. So don't stand there glaring at me, blaming me for everything that went wrong, when in reality it is your own actions and free will that kept you alive out there." He finished his speech rather calmly and just crossed his arms over his chest and waited for me to calm down and see the light. That's how it always was with Haymitch. He always had a point on something, and made them rather well. Still, I felt stupid like I knew I would. All I could do was stare back at him.

"You say it wasn't just some stupid game to get the sponsors to respond to my needs." I ground out between clenched teeth. "Then how come every time I played into their stupid game, by kissing and flirting with Peeta, they sent me the gift I needed most?" he just stood there looking at me. I couldn't take it anymore. "_Tell me!!" _I yelled.

He took in a steady breath and released it. I was almost as if he was trying to tell me something, without exactly saying it. I could see the impatience in his eyes.

"Because, Katniss. The sponsors send you gifts when you really need it, when they think it's going to make the difference between life and death. You should have seen them. They weren't standing around taking bets on when you were going to kiss Peeta next or hold his hand. They were waiting for your decisions, for you to show the raw emotions of someone desperately trying to save not only herself but Peeta as well. You can't seriously be thinking they threw down heaps of money to send you gifts, just because they wanted you to kiss some boy. Oh no. They did it because they saw that you truly cared, and that if you didn't get those gifts, neither of you would have survived." He paused for a moment. "Whether or not you want to see it yourself, Katniss, you were falling for Peeta of your own accord, and no amount of sponsor-pleasing could have pushed you to that unless you actually wanted to do it. You're that stubborn. But lucky for you, that helped the sponsors see another side of you, one that kept you appearing human while everyone else in the arena were going around like animals killing each other."

I had heard enough. I just threw my hands up in the air and let out an exasperated breath. I was so frustrated I didn't know what to say back. Instead I turned around and burst through the doors, not paying attention to my surroundings. I slammed into someone pretty hard as I pushed my way through the hall outside. I was so fired up I didn't even bother turning around to shoot out an apology. I just started running, fast as I could, until I could get some of my frustration out.

I started running low on energy and finally slowed to a walk, kicking rocks out of my way to get some of the tension out. And here I am, walking through the streets like a big nobody, watching everyone pass me with their heads down.

I caught the attention of a little girl walking with her mother, but when she saw me make eye contact with her, she hid behind her mother's dress and kept on moving. _Real cute_, I thought to myself. _Everyone in this place things I'm a total whack job._ I sighed and just kept moving.

My head snapped up at a familiar scent, and after taking in my surroundings I realized I was right outside Peeta's family's bakery. I ducked behind some empty crates in the corner when I heard someone coming out. The voice I heard wasn't Peeta's, but his father's. He was talking to someone but I couldn't hear what they were saying. _It's gotta be Peeta._ But it wasn't. Peeta's father, and what appeared to be a customer, left the shop and went on their merry way down the street. I decided to stay crouched behind my crates in case Peeta really did come out. It would be all too awkward if he saw me now. It would be best if I just remained completely unseen.

The shop sounded quiet, and when I thought it was safe, I stood up and darted down the street. _Hopefully he didn't see me._

I had forgotten how big District 12 seemed. I'd been walking for hours when I realized the day was almost over. Soon I'd be close to the woods I loved so much. I hadn't set foot in them since coming back, and this would be my first time in a while enjoying the secluded atmosphere. _Just what I need._

I slowed my walking some more, feeling like I was no longer in a hurry to get anywhere. I just wanted to be away from anyone and everyone, and this was the best place to do it. Gale never comes out here at night, so I wouldn't have to worry about that. I stopped to look at the sky, all red and purple as the sun started disappearing from the horizon. That's when I heard it.

The sound of a snapping twig turned me around so fast I hardly remember it. But there was nothing but a bird perched in a nearby tree. _I really have to get a hold of myself! This isn't the arena anymore, I'm perfectly safe._ The games had changed me that much was obvious. I felt like I was always watching my back, waiting for the next person to show themselves before they attacked me. But I also had to remind myself those days are over, and I'm back home now, victor of the Hunger Games.

But still, my instinct told me to run, so that's exactly what I did. The sun was mostly gone now, so I took off into a sprint, into the woods. I ran as fast as I could, weaving myself in and out of the trees with an ease I'd forgotten I had. I was headed for my favorite spot, a small meadow-like clearing behind a hill, surrounded with dense trees. Only Gale knows how to find me there, but even he wouldn't be out here this late at night.

There were all sorts of sounds in the woods at night. Mostly owls and birds, or the occasional squirrel skittering across the ground to get out of my sight. It was peaceful, but something about it still reminded me of the arena. It mostly reminded me of hiding in the woods at night, sleeping in trees, trying not to be seen. It reminded me of the time I overheard the Careers talking with Peeta about finding me. And in the next moment it reminded me of when I found out two tributes would be able to win this thing, if they're from the same district. I found myself thinking more and more of Peeta, and it started to get me down. _Get out of my head, Haymitch!_ I said to myself, and kept on running.

Finally I saw the clearing up ahead and slowed to a walk again. I made it to the top of the hill and looked down. The moonlight was streaming in through the trees, illuminating the clearing perfectly. I realized then how much I missed this place. When I got to the bottom, I just gazed around, turning myself slowly in a circle to take in my surroundings. I closed my eyes and tried to think back to a happier time, when I first showed Gale this place. I remember him being impressed that I'd found it before him. Every bad day since then, he usually found me out here trying to escape the mundane life I lived.

The area itself wasn't overly huge. You could probably fit a small house in this clearing, and it would be hidden well amongst all the trees. It was as if someone had cut out the area just for me, so that I'd have a quiet place to think when I needed it. I suddenly remembered I probably shouldn't be out here, since crossing the fence is illegal. But somehow, I found myself not even caring if I got in trouble. I needed a place to think, and this was probably as good as it was going to get. No one else around to hover over me and drill me with questions.

The night air was cool but not freezing, so I took off my jacket and found a soft spot on the grass to lay it down. Then I plopped myself on my back on top of it and just gazed up at the sky. I could see twinkling stars above me, through the trees. The air had a fresh scent of trees. I closed my eyes to take it all in and relax myself. Then I heard a noise.

I bolted up right and twisted on the ground to look behind me but nothing was there. _Probably just another deer._ I thought to myself.

I turned back around and stayed sitting up. Suddenly I found myself thinking of everything. Everything Haymitch said to me this morning, the look on Gale's face, Prim's happy squeals when I was finally able to see her, and of course, Peeta. The next thing I knew, everything that happened in the arena before we won came flooding back to me. I remembered the moment I finally found Peeta, practically bleeding to death all alone in the middle of nowhere. Then I thought back to when we found the cave, and how sick he was before getting the sleeping syrup from the sponsors. Then I was at the moment when I kissed him to shut him up.

My fingers automatically went up to touch my lips, trying to remember what it was like to kiss him. Then I was remembering how he'd taken care of me when I basically cut my head open trying to get the antidote he needed from the feast. I sighed and brushed my hair away from my face. I felt something wet and pulled my fingers away, but didn't see any blood like I was expecting. That's when I realized I'd been crying. The tears started to flow freely now, and I could feel them tracing hot trails down my skin. _Now is as good a time as any,_ I thought to myself. I didn't try to stop the tears now. Instead I just let them come and take over me completely. Everything I'd been feeling since the games ended just came out on the forefront. It would be embarrassing for anyone to find me like this now, but it was a relief to finally let the pressure out. I hadn't allowed myself any time for tears, much less allow myself to just let go like this. There has hardly been even any time to just let myself think. And that's exactly what I was allowing myself to do.

I had been crying for what felt like forever. But really it had been only close to an hour since I let the emotional trip begin. I heard another noise. It sounded like twigs breaking on the ground.

I turned around, not expecting to see anything other than a deer or squirrel, but this time I did see something and it was neither of those. It looked like the shadow of a person. Someone had followed me out here.


	2. Spies and Explanations

Immediately I had gone into survival mode. I got up quickly from my comfy spot on the grass and took on the defensive, ready to attack anything and anyone that came near me. I didn't even bother wiping the tears from my face. This was not a time to mess with me. Whoever was out there was going to pay for invading my privacy.

I just stood there, watching, waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever did. I took two steps toward them and then stopped. "Who's there?" I said in a demanding tone. I didn't like the thought of people sneaking up on me, especially when I'd much rather have the ground open up into a gaping hole and just swallow me. At least then I'd have some peace and quiet, and wouldn't have to worry about random people following me.

No answer. I found myself taking a few more steps in their direction, and watched as they turned to leave. _Oh no, you don't._ I started walking a bit quicker now, wanting to catch up and see who it was. Now it was driving me crazy. Not knowing who was there would probably make me even madder than knowing I was being spied on. _It was probably yet another reporter looking for some dirt about Peeta and me. That's just great. Haymitch would love to know that I was staying out of trouble, which I definitely was not, being that I was out here._

I finally took the trouble of wiping my face so I could see clearly. Running after someone with teary eyes was not a good idea, especially at night, in the woods, when I can't see much to begin with. I broke out into a run and shot into the dense woods. My little spy-friend was ahead of me somewhere. I couldn't see them really, but I could hear them. It didn't sound like a run so much as a walk. I reached to my back pocket automatically, where I usually kept my knife. That's when it dawned on me. I stopped dead in my tracks and realized I didn't bring anything with me. Not a knife, sling-shot, bow and arrow, or anything as stupid as even a piece of string to choke someone with.

I sighed in defeat and just stood there, listening. I still wanted to know who it was, so I started running again. The cool breeze flowing through my hair felt wonderful, but I still couldn't see a damned thing. Perfect. I'd forgotten how far my little hiding spot was into the woods, but up ahead I thought I could see something darting through a couple trees. I sped up, but when I got to the spot where I saw them, I didn't see anything. I spun around in a circle, trying to get my bearings. It was so silent all I could hear was the whisper of the wind and a few owls out in the distance. I wasn't anywhere near the city, all the way out here, so I knew they couldn't have made it out already. I concentrated hard on my surroundings, but nothing was coming to me. I started pacing slowly around the trees, hoping I might stumble on someone. The darkness was so unnerving I almost felt myself go into a panic.

_Crack._

I heard a twig snap on the ground, off to my right. I took off into a run, when suddenly something caught me by the sleeve and hurled me backwards. I let out a shriek of surprise and felt the panic finally take hold of me. It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew I was being thrown up against a tree, and a hand was covering my mouth as I tried to wriggle free. The reporter pressed their body against me and had my hands in a vice grip above my head so I couldn't break free. I tried to scream so hard, but almost nothing came out.

"Shhh!" it whispered in my ear.

I finally opened my eyes after realizing I had them clenched shut, trying to get a scream out. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to what I was seeing. The reporter was staring right at me, waiting for me to cooperate. That's when I realized it wasn't a reporter, but someone I knew. The eyes were all too familiar.

Peeta.

I immediately relaxed a bit, but still felt the urge to freak out on him.

"Promise you won't scream?" he whispered.

I hesitated, but when I nodded my head, he took his hand away from my mouth. He still had me pinned against the tree with his hands on my shoulders, but at least now I could breathe.

It was almost too hard to get the words out. I was mad beyond belief, but tried to stay calm. "Peeta! You nearly gave me a heart attack!!" I spat.

He let out a sigh. "I know. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

I glared at him for a moment, then realized. "What are you doing out here? If anyone catches you, you could get into a whole lot of trouble! Haymitch will have your hide for sure."

He was calm, but clearly out of breath. "That's why I'm here. Haymitch sent me. Well, he sort of did anyway." He looked down and finally released his grip on my shoulders. He must know that now I'm not going to just run away.

"What do you mean Haymitch sent you?" I was clearly confused by the whole situation. Nothing made sense just yet. "Wait a minute, how did you even find me? Nobody knows about this place except for Gale." Then it hit me. "Gale told you, didn't he?" I was so mad I couldn't get anything else out. _That figures he would betray my hiding spot to someone else. He's obviously not over being mad at me._

But Peeta only shook his head. "No, Gale didn't tell me. Actually, I followed you out here."

_Oh great. Peeta's going to get into so much trouble all the time now if he starts following me around everywhere._

"This morning before we met with Haymitch, I actually got there a little early. He thought it would be the perfect time to fill me in on some things." He crossed his arms over his chest as he told me the story. "Apparently the Capitol is hell bent on making you out to be the bad guy now. Or girl, in this case." He half-smiled, but I still was just staring at him like an idiot. "They want to prove that you're a danger and are finding ways to get you locked up, but I have a feeling they'd rather turn you into an Avox than anything else."

I finally blinked a couple times and let his words sink in a bit. "I don't understand what that has to do with you being out here in the middle of the woods with me, or better yet, what it has to do with you following me!" My voice was starting to get louder, and Peeta was right in front of me again, pressing a finger to my lips.

"Not so loud, okay? I'm getting to the point, but you have to let me talk. No interruptions."

His finger was still on my lips but I nodded and he took it away. "Why are we whispering anyway? We're out in the middle of nowhere!"

"I said no interruptions, and I mean it." He half-smiled again, which earned him an eye roll and crossed arms from me.

"Fine, I'll be quiet."

"Okay. Haymitch said that the Capitol is sending spies out all over the place to crawl District 12. They're watching you very closely for anything that might show you might try to defy them again. And that's where they're going to get you. They're waiting for you to slip up and make mistakes. They'll take you away the second they see something, charge you with that, and then proceed to drill you about what really happed at the end of the games." He stopped for a second. "With us and the stunt we pulled." He looked away from me.

I had to say that I wasn't really surprised by any of it, except for the fact that they were so determined to not let a sixteen-year-old get the best of them. It was all ridiculous if you asked me.

I remembered to keep my voice quieter this time. "But why do they insist on making such a fuss over me? I'm sure there are plenty of other people that have done worse things, so they shouldn't be wasting—"

He cut me off. "Oh I'm sure there are more than a handful of other people that they're worried about, but that's not it. You're the only one that has the support of probably all of District 12, and if that's the case, there are plenty of people to rally in your defense. They'd most likely have a District 13 situation on their hands again. It didn't go that well last time, but who knows? The other districts watched you very closely during the games. There could be so many more people out there that support you, and if there are, the Capitol would have a huge problem fighting off all the districts at once."

I let his words sink in some more. "I guess I never thought of it that way before. It just always seems like everyone's either avoiding me or they're ashamed of me." I looked pointedly at him, and even though I didn't mean to, Peeta still felt the force of my words and understood what I meant. He looked down, then back up at me again.

"Don't you get it now, Kat? The Capitol is actually afraid of you. As long as you're allowed to run free, they fear you could do some serious damage, as bad as trying to overthrow them."

"But I'm not—"

"It doesn't matter. They see it completely differently. All they care about is tarnishing you and making you look as bad as they can so they can shake off any support you already have, which goes pretty deep. Haymitch told me."

It was all getting to be too much. "But I still don't see how you or Haymitch play into this. Why are you here, Peeta?" I looked at him seriously, but I felt tired so I don't think he took it as such. I'm sure my exhaustion was showing itself clearly now.

"Haymitch seems to think I can protect you and keep you out of trouble." He let out a sigh and then continued. "He thinks it would be a good idea for me to keep close tabs on you for a while. To make sure I at least know what you're up to, so that when the reporters come crashing through my door, I can at least pretend we're on the same page."

Now it was starting to make sense. Haymitch never gives up. We were back to the good old Love Game thing again. "He had you follow me."

Peeta put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "He did. But he says it's for your own good."

I stepped away from the tree and started slowly pacing, biting on my fingernails as I thought about everything Peeta was telling me.

Finally I stopped in front of Peeta and looked at him. I was close enough to reach out and touch him, and even though it was very dark out here, I could see the torment on his face. "Why does he keep throwing us into these situations? It doesn't make any sense!" I reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

He just shrugged. "I don't like it any more than you do." He sounded hurt, and I tried to ignore it but it was almost too hard to.

"That's not what I mean. Well it is, but it isn't at the same time. Never mind." I waved that one off. _I'm such an idiot._ "I mean, what's the point in trying to protect me when the Capitol is so much bigger than we are in the first place." Then I thought of something and looked straight into his eyes, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "Not only that, but how exactly did you follow me anyway? I was out of the boundaries so fast, I was sure no one saw me. Besides, everyone makes it a point to treat me like a nobody, like they don't even care what I do. I'm sure no one saw. And you left Haymitch's before I did, but when I passed by your shop, I definitely didn't see you anywhere in sight."

This time it was Peeta that made the effort to look me directly in the eye. "I overheard what Haymitch told you this morning. I didn't mean to listen in though. I was just waiting around outside, not really wanting to go home, but not knowing where I'd go either. Then I heard your voice getting louder and I knew he was working one over on you. That's when I started listening."

I nodded and looked away from him, feeling embarrassed. I didn't really like knowing he heard Haymitch tell me everything he did—how he basically thought I had feelings for Peeta that I am too stubborn to realize myself.

But he had more to say still. I think he sensed I was uncomfortable. "You ran out of there so fast it worried me." He said.

Finally, the last piece to the puzzle. "So it was you I plowed through, trying to get out of there." I thought back to the random person I nearly knocked over in my escape. "So you saw me running and just followed me?" I was looking at him again, arching my eyebrows.

He nodded. "You're not all that hard to follow, especially when you're already convinced no one cares enough to even pay attention. But I pay attention, Kat."

A slight smile crossed my lips. "Kat? I don't think anyone's ever called me that before. Catnip, yes. Kat, no." I said as an afterthought.

He just shrugged.

"So how long were you watching me? When I was in the clearing, I mean." I asked only because I was curious.

He ruffled his hair in a sort of tired way. "Not too long. I was trying to be quiet, but my plan was to come out and talk to you. Until I saw that you were upset, and then I changed my mind. That's when I thought it would be a good idea to leave and just wait for you outside the woods."

_Oh, just peachy. He heard me crying, and probably saw my awful tear-streaked face before he took off._

"Why did you run from me? Do you know how freaked out I was at first?" The tone of my voice sounded threatening, but it didn't appear that he was phased by it at all.

Peeta only laughed. "Well I thought you would have tried throwing a knife my direction, so I thought I'd get out of there before you had the chance to. Besides, I didn't think you'd want to see me."

That made me feel bad. "Peeta look, I—"

"It's fine. You don't have to explain anything to me." He cast his eyes down, breaking contact with mine. Now I could tell he was really hurt by it all. It angered me that I didn't know what to do about it. It was just all so confusing.

I reached out and turned his face up to mine, so he would look at me. He seemed surprised. Then I dropped my hand once I had his attention. "I think I would have only felt embarrassed if you told me you were there, but I wouldn't have sent you away. It's just that—" I had a hard time finding the words.

"Just what?" He whispered in a calm tone.

I looked into his eyes. "It's just that I would have been surprised to see you. I'm not stupid—I know you're definitely not happy with me, and I don't blame you. My first reaction would have been that you'd have come out here to give me a piece of your mind." I looked down and started pacing again. "But I still wonder, why did you surprise me like you did out here, covering my mouth and throwing me up against a tree? For that, you're lucky I didn't have my knife with me."

Dawn reflected off his face. "Oh, that. I thought I heard something. I mean other than you. I ran off to check it out, and when I couldn't find anything, I came back. That's when I saw you heading in that direction, and decided to pull you back just in case someone other than us was out there." Now he looked really worried.

"So that's why you're whispering." I thought about it for a second and found myself pacing once again, and also biting my fingernails like a fool. This was starting to sound serious. No doubt someone from the Capitol is having Peeta followed as well. But then I thought of something else. "Please don't tell me Haymitch told you to keep up the love-bird escapade?" I really don't think I could bear it if that were true. Peeta looked at me with such a surprised look on his face that it made me stop what I was doing completely.

"Why?" he asked. "Did he tell you that?" He said in a hurt and angry tone.

Turns out that wasn't the best thing to blurt out in this situation. But all I could say was, "No." and it surprised him. The pained look on his face melted, but he still looked distant. Something was clearly bothering him. So I went on. "I'm tired of pretending." The look he gave me then was one I couldn't read. I guess if I'd thought about it ahead of time, those words could have come off that I was sick of pretending to feel things I don't—when in reality, I wasn't sure what I felt, so it wasn't fair to say I didn't feel_ anything._

Without thinking, I went back to the tree and slid down against it until I was sitting on my heels, and put my head in my hands. _What a royal mess I've made,_ I thought to myself. I sighed and then heard Peeta's footsteps as he came to sit down next to me. I glanced sideways at him after a moment and saw that he put his head back against the tree and closed his eyes.

"I know." Was all he said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the sounds around us. I looked up into the trees, feeling the urge to climb, to get a better look. Peeta must have sensed what I was thinking because he was watching me when I looked back down.

"You feeling tempted to sleep in a tree tonight?" he asked me with a slight smirk on his face.

I let out a small laugh. "I can't help it. It seems only natural after sleeping in so many trees during the games." He let out a half-laugh and looked like he was about to say something. But that's exactly when we heard it.

"Shh." I whispered, holding up a hand to quiet him. I listened carefully and we both looked at each other.

"Footsteps." We said at the exact same moment.

They were almost far-off, but close enough to hear. And from what we could tell, it wasn't only one pair of footsteps coming in our direction. Peeta and I looked hurriedly at each other.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked me. Both of us looked up into the trees, and got up so fast it was almost a blur. Then we started climbing.

**Thanks to all who have read so far!!! There is much more to come, and it's about to get a little bit more fluffy from here on out! I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and leave comments! I'd love nothing more than to know your thoughts.**


	3. Falling

**Hello everyone! I meant to get this up sooner, but it got a little crazy. And I had to edit a few more things to get the tone just right for this. It's evolved quite a bit from the original version--which I didn't care too much for. I hope you like it though! I had fun writing it so I hope you have fun reading it! It's kinda long though since I spent so much time on it.  
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I was well on my way up the massive tree Peeta and I were leaning up against only seconds ago. I was nervous about letting Peeta climb but he was quick on his feet and he was able to give me a head start by hoisting me up to the first branch, and then started pulling himself up onto a branch on the other side of the tree. I had to admit, it was very fortunate we were already next to one of the biggest trees in the area. Neither of us would have had time to look around for another decent tree for us both to climb, and there definitely wasn't time for us each to find our own tree. Whoever was out there was most likely looking for us, and we weren't the least bit interested in being found. So our only option was to go up.

Peeta was doing pretty well, given that he always told me I was the expert tree climber. _You've been holding out on me, mister Mellark._ I thought to myself. I'd half expected him to be too weak still for climbing trees, since his leg was still healing. But from the sound of it, he was doing just fine on his own. Every once in a while I would hear him hit his head on a branch, but other than that he had it well under control. My hands were getting slippery from sweat and adrenaline, and I had to catch myself a few times so I didn't lose it completely and fall to the ground on my head. We maybe only had a minute or two before the mystery visitors were close enough to see us—unless, of course, we could get far enough up the tree. We were lucky to be in a densely wooded area. The trees around us were so thick almost no light was coming through from above.

I looked down and gauged that we were probably a good twenty or so feet off the ground. _Not good enough._ I kept going, and so did Peeta. At least he was still moving and I didn't have to worry about him too much. I looked over and could see him just a little bit. He was moving around to the other side, probably because that's where all the good branches were. Then I realized he was moving in that direction as a way of hiding behind it to slip out of sight. _Good thinking, Peeta._ I followed his lead and started grasping at branches to pull myself around to the other side of the tree as well.

"I think we're far enough up. Let's find some place to wait it out for a little bit." He suggested. I nodded, even though I'm pretty sure he couldn't see me. We could have gone a few more feet but something told me that heights might not be his forte.

"What's the matter? You afraid of heights?" I teased.

I could hear him scoff at me as he climbed the last few branches.. "Yeah right. I have bigger things to worry about right now--like you falling to your death from way up here."

I was appalled. "Me? What about you? I've had years of practice. I don't think I'm going to just fall out."

I hoisted myself up once more and found a nice sturdy fork of branches that was big enough and dense enough you could easily fit a couple sleeping bags into. I swung my right leg over and crawled to a spot next to the trunk. My heart was racing so fast I just closed my eyes and took steady breaths until it slowed. I hoped my breathing wasn't too loud.

"Yeah well you could." He finally answered.

_Thunk!_

I heard Peeta climb up right next to me, hitting his head in the process. I saw him bite down on his fist to keep from letting any sound out. I only tried not to laugh. He looked ridiculous like that. But he had the same idea I did and let his head rest back on the trunk once he was situated. I could almost hear his heart beating as fast as mine. Or, at least, I thought I could.

I secretly hoped he could see my face because I was scowling at him now. "Actually I should worry about you falling out of the tree instead."

"I am perfectly capable of staying upright. My leg may still be recovering but I'm not helpless."

His tone sounded different--hurt. He was taking the defensive. I shook my head. "No, Peeta that's not what I meant."

He cut me off. "Look, you've got to stop blaming yourself for what happened to me. It wasn't your fault and even more importantly, its not a big deal at all. I don't feel any different than I did before I nearly got chewed to bits." He was serious now.

I didn't know what to say to that but I could still feel the shame. I was still convinced that it was my fault. I kept telling myself I could have done things differently. It was just a part of everything else I screwed up.

"Hmm." Was all I could get out as I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I sniffed and hoped he didn't notice.

For what seemed like ages, we just sat there, waiting. Finally one of us decided to break the silence.

"Do you hear anything?" he asked. I looked at him and shook my head.

"That probably means they're close, whoever they are. They're probably trying to be as quiet as they can so they can launch a sneak attack on us." I replied back. "Lucky for us they might not even know we're up here. We've got to be, what, forty or so feet from the ground?" I looked down at the ground below as I spoke, as if I could even see anything..

In one startled moment noticed what I was wearing and groaned. Meetings with Haymitch always required some sort of nicer attire, especially now that being a victor has you flung into the spotlight constantly. I had on a knee-length casual skirt made of soft brown material, dark brown lace-up boots that went up mid-calf, that were somewhat loose and comfy around my legs but still left some skin exposed, and a blue and white blouse. I had a jacket at one point, that matched my skirt, but that got left behind in the clearing when I ran after Peeta. Oh how I would love to have that back right now. My hair had fallen out of its braid too, and fell in soft waves down my back.

"Crap." I said in frustration. I couldn't exactly see, but I could feel that my legs were pretty scraped up from the quick climb up the tree. My knees and thighs ached where they made contact on the branches as I heaved myself over them.

Peeta looked over but I don't think he could really see what I was fussing about. "What--did you hear something?"

"No. I just scraped up my legs pretty good trying to get up here. Normally when I climb trees I have long pants on. This has got to be a first." I touched my knees lightly and felt something warm and wet on my skin. _Unless I peed my pants recently, I'm pretty sure I'm just bleeding._

I heard a slightly smug laugh. "Well you did just fine, didn't you? Is there anything you're not good at?" he asked. "Getting up here was quite the trip."

One thing came to mind but I thought it probably wasn't a good idea to bring it up right now. I definitely was not good at the whole love thing—at least not for real. "Are you okay?" I asked. I hoped he hadn't hurt himself trying to get up here. These trees aren't exactly easy to climb.

"Yeah I just haven't pushed myself too hard since being home. It was nice to see if I could do it though."

"Well I'm sorry we had shoot up a tree to hide. Its just the first thing I thought of."

"It's okay. At least now I know what it's like from your perspective. Being up here is actually really peaceful, even if all we're doing is hiding. No wonder you like it."

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Yeah when you see me up a tree, it's normally because I'm either in trouble, or trying to avoid it. I can't remember the last time I climbed a tree just for fun."

"I'm not surprised." He said. "So what does this situation qualify as?"

I thought about it for a second. "Actually it's probably both."

He let out a small laugh of his own and then a sigh. "So it looks like you're not going to get much sleep tonight. Sorry about that."

I just shook my head and turned it to the side. "It's not your fault. Besides, I'm not big on sleep lately." My eyes must have adjusted to the darkness finally, because I could see that Peeta was only about a foot from where I was sitting. I could also see his piercing eyes watching me. There was so much I wanted to say to him in that moment. But I knew that if I did, it would come back to bite me—and hard. If anything it would make things worse. It wasn't fair for either of us in this situation. What I really wanted to say was how much I missed him, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to get the words out. I half reached my hand out to touch his face but dropped it when I realized what I was doing. Peeta's voice shook me from my inner thoughts.

He frowned. "Me either. I have a hard time shutting my mind off to everything lately."

Now I was really feeling bad. _I'm sorry, Peeta, I'm so sorry. _I wanted to say. Then I heard something. I held up a finger to him, and then placed it on my lips. "Shh." I whispered as softly as I could. Peeta turned his head away from me. I couldn't see what he was doing exactly, but I imagine he was trying to look around the tree or trying to pick up what I was hearing.

It was faint, but I knew I heard something. My instinct was screaming with the sense that whoever was out there, was definitely searching for us. It became clear only seconds later.

"I thought you said you saw him out here." The first person whispered loudly.

"He was. I know I saw him. He was on my tail before I lost him he was right here. I remember that tree over there--it's hard to miss." The second person replied, pointing to the tree we were in.

I tried stretching around the tree to get a better view but didn't feel steady enough to do much more than that. I could almost reach the next branch over, which would let me move around to the other side, but it was too far away and I'd most likely slip through the branches and dive head first into the ground. _Definitely not an option. _I sat back up straight and reached for Peeta's arm to pull him toward me. He looked startled at the gesture. I leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

"I need you to hold onto my leg so I can get closer to listen to what those guys down there are up to." I leaned back to take in his expression. He nodded and waited for my cue. We turned around and started crawling very slowly and carefully. Finally I stopped and looked back at him—then I moved my left leg forward and let my right leg hang back behind me. Peeta turned to a crouch so that he'd have a better hold on me. I bunched up my skirt and pinned it between my legs, then I tapped him with my boot to signal that I was ready. He grabbed onto my ankle with both hands as I started to dip my upper body below the spot where I'd once been sitting.

I found it to be much more functional to just hang below the branches, instead of possibly causing more noise by crawling all over the place. And that would get us nowhere.

From this angle I could actually see enough of what was going on to tell that there were four people pacing around in the area below us, just a few trees away. I stretched my body just a bit further, signaling Peeta to let me drop down some more. I felt one of his hands leave my ankle and wrap around the other as he lowered me. Below me I found a strong branch and threw my arms out against it to steady myself. I was hanging from the tree by my hips and Peeta was holding onto my ankle for dear life. My hair was in my face but it didn't matter brcause I could still see somewhat.

No one was speaking but I could tell our little friends were up to something. I was starting to get impatient and wanted to know what they wanted from us in the first place. Finally someone spoke up.

"My guess is they're probably tired and went home. We should wait there for them. Neither of them stays home for very long so it shouldn't be too hard."

They all appeared to be in agreement because a short while later, after looking the area over some, they were on their way back out of the woods. _Yeah you had better scram before I get my hands on you! _

I waited a few minutes in complete silence until I thought it was safe enough to let Peeta pull me back up. My legs were starting to ache, and were getting more scrapes on them from being pressed into the tree bark.

"Okay, I think they're gone. Pull me back up?" I asked. The blood gathering in my head was starting to become unbearable.

"On three." He started.

I began wriggling around a bit to get into a position to push myself up.

Peeta gripped my ankles harder in preparation. "One. Two--"

My hand slipped from the branch and I let out a squeal as Peeta's grip on me faltered. I felt that unmistakable falling sensation as my stomach found a new home up in my face.

"Kat!" I heard him yell.

It all happened so fast, but felt slow at the same time. I immediately threw my arms out in front of me, hoping to crash into a sturdy enough branch to break my fall. I was hitting just about everything head first in front of me, when finally I grabbed hold of a thick branch. The force of the fall pushed my body downward but I was able to hold on long enough to let my body swing with the movement. My arms felt like they were going to snap right out of their sockets as they absorbed the shock of taking all my weight at once. Finally I was upright again, gasping for air as I swung and dangled from the branch. I adjusted my hands to get a better grip and was suddenly reminded of all the times I swung from the poles on various buildings around the district. Still, it was nothing like this. This was more painful. I looked up and could see Peeta about fifteen feet above me. He was hanging over the edge with on arm out--probably the one that let me slip through his fingers like butter.

"Kat! Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "I think so!" I yelled back at him. Then I looked down and and saw I was probably thirty or so feet from the ground. "I managed to catch a branch. So other than the fact that I'm dangling pretty far from the ground and I'm catching my breath still, I think I'm okay." I could tell my voice was dripping with sarcasm but it wasn't lost on Peeta.

"Well I was pretty worried up until the point where I realized you didn't hit the ground. What was that you were saying earlier? That you don't fall out of trees? I think you need to remind me." He shot back. I could almost hear a smile seeping through to his voice. I only scowled. "So now what?" He asked. "Do you think I should climb down and try catching you?"

Now I knew he was having fun with this. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "No I think I will just hang here and wait for morning to come. Either that or wait for my arms to fall off." Peeta laughed but the pressure in my shoulders was starting to really hurt so I made an attempt at pulling myself up and over the branch. That didn't exactly work too well because my arms really felt like they were going to fall off.

"Oh and by the way—I think it's pretty obvious that those goons were after us." I managed to choke out. I was groaning with the effort of trying not to fall.

Peeta gave me a mocking laugh. "Really." He said. "I had _no_ idea."

I just rolled my eyes and decided to go with it because I couldn't stand this pain anymore. "I'm going to try and climb down. My arms are in too much pain to try and pull myself back up. I'll see you at the bottom!" I called out to him. This was all too intimidating. I glanced down but couldn't see a branch directly under me that I could safely drop to. _Fantastic._ So I just started stepping my way down carefully.

I heard rustling above me as Peeta started his way down the tree. He seemed to move a bit quicker than me and was on the ground first after a couple minutes, waiting for me. I looked down and could see him in the moonlight, arms crossed over his chest as he watched me. "Seriously--I can catch you if you want." He was almost laughing but I just rolled my eyes.

I made it to the last branch and swung down, then dropped into a tuck-roll when I hit the ground. My legs gave out from under me but I came out of the roll and stood up to brush myself off. I was all shaky and my arms killed but other than that I was fine. _How lovely. I'm a total mess. _My skirt was all bunched but I smoothed it out and tried to ignore the pain in my arms as well as in my legs.

I was still brushing myself off as I walked over to him. He had a slight smirk on his face.

"I was serious. I could have caught you, you know."

I looked at him. "I had it under control." I shot back.

Now he was laughing at me as I continued to dust myself off. It seemed that I had a whole forest growing from my clothes now. Twigs and leaves sticking out everywhere, dirt smudging everything.

Peeta took a few steps toward me and let his arms drop from his chest. "Under control, huh? Just look at you! You're a disaster that's already happened." He put a hand on each side of my head, which made me flinch at first, and raked his fingers through my hair. I looked at him and felt all awkward, but he was only getting the leaves out. He had a look that said he was focusing on picking out all the leaves, and getting quite frustrated with it at first. He kept doing this until he was satisfied that my hair looked semi-decent again. That's when I guessed I really must have looked horrible—because it took him a minute.

He took his hands away and smoothed my hair out. "There--much better." He said with a half smile.

We locked eyes for a minute and I was overwhelmed with the sense of wanting to reach out and touch him. I touched my hair nervously instead. This was definitely an awkward moment. But then that was most likely my fault. "Thanks." I told him. I didn't want him to stop running his fingers through my now-less-tangled hair, but that felt pretty selfish on my part. He's already unhappy with me and I didn't want to push my luck.

"You're welcome." He just watched me for a moment.

Suddenly I remembered what took place while I was hanging from the tree. "Oh!" I said exasperatedly, grabbing his shoulders. "I haven't told you the best part!" He looked startled, so I dropped my hands hesitantly and crossed them over my chest.

"So not only are those guys after us, but as they were leaving they said they were going to our houses to keep an eye out for us. They think we're at home, and that's why they couldn't find us. So they're going to wait until morning, and get to us when we leave. Whatever they're up to, I don't like it one bit." I let out a sigh and hugged my arms over my chest. It was starting to get cold out here and I kept getting the chills.

"They must be really stupid then." Peeta said. "First of all, they spend all that time watching you hide out in trees during the games, but they don't have the common sense to think maybe that's where we were hiding?" He let out a laugh. "Whoever they are, they obviously don't know the first thing about you."

"And you do?" It came out harsh and that wasn't my intention. He looked at me with an odd expression on his face so I softened my tone then. "Thanks, but it's not just me they're after, remember?" I reminded him. "And they will have a huge situation on their hands if they mess with you too." I paused, thinking of something. "We can look at this two ways. If what you say is true—if there's really some sort of possible rebellion here—then either they are working for the Capitol and want to shut us up, nip it in the bud--whatever, or they are sort of on our side and want to make sure the Capitol pays, by using us to do their bidding."

Peeta just nodded. "You have a point, but my gut tells me those guys are all sorts of wrong. I'd guess they were from the Capitol before anything else."

I sighed and nodded. He was probably right after all.

Peeta thought it was his turn to point out the obvious. "So—I don't think we'll be going back home tonight."

"That's probably not the best idea. So what do you propose we do?" I was starting to become too tired to think. My eyes felt droopy and my body ached all over, especially my arms.

"Well I don't know about you," he started, "but I'm kinda tired. Maybe we should find somewhere decent to sleep?"

I nodded and slowly turned around to walk off. When I couldn't hear Peeta behind me, I turned to look at him. "Well--are you coming?"

He startled, and then started walking. "Where are we headed?" He asked as he fell into step beside me.

"To go get my jacket. I'm freezing. And there might be a decent spot to sleep under a tree somewhere near the clearing. The grass is soft around there." I informed him.

"Perfect." He answered in a sleepy-sounding voice. He yawned and kicked up some dirt as we kept walking through the woods.

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**Well, any thoughts on what's next for these two? I'll give you a few guesses. So please drop me a review!!!**


	4. Comfort

**Hello everyone! So sorry it took me so long to get this up! I was playing with a story idea for a novel, and I was trying to get this story just right at the same time. It's a bit shorter than the last chapters, but hopefully you will be satisfied with where it's headed!**

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As we made our way silently through the woods to the clearing, I kept thinking of how long this walk seemed to take—compared to when I left the clearing earlier in a full run to chase after Peeta. I could swear it took us no time at all to get to the big tree we climbed, but now, I was too tired to run and also too impatient to wait for our tired legs to get us there. I was anxious to come across the big, old log on the ground that marked when I was getting close to my little secret spot in the woods. If I could find that, I'd know we were about ten minutes walking distance—but it wasn't anywhere in sight just yet. I was shivering and trying to keep myself warm. I was really starting to get annoyed with this whole situation. I stole a glance over at Peeta, who had his hands in his pockets, and his head was down slightly. The silence was too awkward, but I didn't know what to say so I turned my gaze back to what was in front of me and kept quiet. _He probably appreciates the silence anyway._

"Is something wrong?" he asked me, glancing over in my direction.

I jerked my head at the sudden sound of his voice. "No, not really." I answered.

"Every time I look over at you, you look like you want to say something but you don't. You look nervous."

I sighed in defeat. "It's just really quiet out here."

"It is." He said matter-of-factly.

It went quiet again and we just kept on moving. Finally I decided I'd had enough. "Okay, so maybe I'm not good with these awkward silences. We still have a while to go until we get to the clearing, so talk."

He glanced over at me then, looking dumb-founded. "Me? You're the one that's uncomfortable, so you talk. I don't know what to say."

I looked down then, feeling lost. "I don't know what to say either."

"Well that's that, I guess." And then he went quiet again.

So I just kept on moving forward, trying to concentrate on something else like staying warm, instead of all the things I wanted to say to Peeta. Now just didn't seem like the time to get into _that_ conversation. It didn't seem like he was up for talking anyway. I sighed and then tripped on a tree root, nearly losing my balance. I let out a grumble of frustration and limped a bit. I smashed my toe in the process, so there was another thing to add to the list of injuries for the day. _Katniss: thirty seven, Peeta: zero—fabulous._

Peeta cleared his throat then. "Are you sure there's really nothing you want to say? Because it seems fairly obvious that you're distracted by something. I've never seen you this clumsy before. "

"Maybe I'm losing my edge. It would make sense after what we just went through with the games." I stopped limping around and grumbling on like a fool and just looked at him, then let out a sigh. "But as it so happens, yes, I do have a lot on my mind—but I'm not going to go on talking about it because it would just make it awkward." I turned back around and walked off, still feeling frustrated. I needed to be careful because sometimes my tongue can be a little sharp. What I needed was sleep—my body and mind were starting to disagree with each other, which was making me moody.

I heard Peeta's quick steps as he started to catch up to me. "What is going on with you? I've never seen you act like this before." He was clearly confused by my behavior, which made me feel bad, but I can't remember a time that I was so frustrated by everything I couldn't concentrate. I wasn't usually this dysfunctional as a human being.

Finally I just stopped and looked at him. "Look, I'm sorry. Really I am. I guess I'm just having a hard time with everything—being back home, adjusting to everything. Nobody is the same toward me anymore, including you, and it's extremely frustrating. Not only that, but this whole business with the capitol is getting under my skin—I don't even know who I can trust right now." I tried to not lose my temper right there. It wasn't his fault, but I hoped he didn't think I was taking it out on him.

"I see." He nodded, although I'm not really sure if he caught my meaning behind those last few words.

I sighed again in defeat. "It's not that big a deal, okay? I'm just tired and taking it out on you—that's not fair, so I'm sorry." I turned back around to walk off, and noticed the log I'd been waiting for. There it was, mocking me, sprawled across the path. I'd never seen anything more welcoming. "Come on, we're almost there."

I could hear him hesitate behind me as we started walking again, but finally we made it to the clearing after a few more minutes of silence. We stood at the edge of the trees, taking it all in, and I scanned the area for my jacket. The moonlight was still dim, but I spotted it on the grass and ran to pick it up. When I turned back around to glance in Peeta's direction, he was just staring at me with his arms folded over his chest.

"This way—" I waved to him. "There's softer grass over on this side." I said pointing to the opposite side I was walking toward.

He dropped his arms with a sigh and jogged over—at which point he decided to hover over me. "I want you to tell me right now what's really on your mind."

I was surprised at this. "Peeta, now really isn't the time for this. I'll only end up making you more upset with me, and I'm pretty sure you're only asking about it anyway just to be polite."

"Make me upset?" he asked as we walked to the other side of the clearing. "There's really nothing more you can say that will make things worse." he said in a flat tone. Right then, I could hear the hurt in his voice and see it in his eyes when I glanced up at him. It made me stop for a moment.

"Go ahead and let it all out. I know I deserve it. You don't have to hold back around me."

"Likewise." He answered in that same flat tone.

My head went back down to look for a soft spot under the trees for us to sleep, but I looked up at him and gave him a forced smile, to suggest that it really wasn't a big deal—like I was just trying to brush it off. "I'm sure you don't want to hear all the lame stuff that's on my mind." I replied. "I won't bore you—besides, I know you've been trying to stay away from me and that says enough. You don't need to be nicer to me than you have to." I continued wandering under the trees, hunched over to inspect the ground. "Oh here we go!" I finally found a nice soft area of long grass. I sat down and leaned against the tree, pulling my knees up against me to get comfortable. Peeta looked annoyed, but sat down beside me and stretched his legs out as he leaned back against the tree.

Looking up you could see the tree branches stretching pretty far out in front of us—about eight or nine feet, and the leaves were about five or six feet above our heads, so not only did this serve as a good spot protected from various weather elements, but it gave us enough cover for hiding in if we happened to need it.

I looked over at Peeta and saw that his eyes were closed. The skin between his eyes seemed to crease a little bit—a sign that he was thinking about something. But I just sat there, quietly, and stared at him. He looked so peaceful, and relaxed except I knew he wasn't. Automatically I reached out and slowly brushed his hair out of his eyes. The touch of my fingers must have startled him because his eyes opened and he turned to look at me. I took my fingers away and looked down.

"You can trust me, you know." He said.

"What?" My head snapped back up so I could look at him.

"Earlier, you said you didn't know who you could trust anymore—but you can trust me."

I just gazed longingly at him, and my heart beat started to pick up a little. "I'm surprised to hear you say that after everything I—"

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself. What happened between us was just as much my fault as it was yours—although I have to admit I'm still disappointed with the outcome."

I hung my head back down and watched my hands fidget with a string on my skirt. I didn't know what to say because all I could feel was shame. The sound of Peeta's voice brought my attention back to him though.

"Look, I know I seem really awkward and upset toward you, but I am trying not to be like that. Despite everything that's happened, I really don't want to lose you altogether." He paused for a second, and that crease between his eyes was there again. "I know I told you to let me know when you figured things out, but I think that would ruin any chance of us even being friends—if I distanced myself from you. I don't know about you, but I couldn't stand it if that were the case."

My heart rate sped up just a little bit more. "I don't want to lose you either." I shivered and pulled my jacket across my front even tighter, and then tucked my knees sideways under me. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was the best I could do. I glanced at Peeta and saw a slight smile emerge from his lips. I couldn't help but grin back.

"Do you think this could be Haymitch's way of keeping us together—as in, around each other all the time—so we don't mess it up with the reporters?" he asked. I could almost hear a laugh in there somewhere.

But it was me who laughed instead. "I doubt it. Not after I ripped into him about what he did before—how he manipulated me in the games. I don't think he's heard me scream that much, ever."

Peeta was smiling now. "I bet he got an earful. I don't think that's something I ever want to experience." He sighed and the conversation died for a moment.

"I think Haymitch is keeping us in each other's company to teach me a lesson."

Peeta's eyebrows shot up. "A lesson? In what?"

I let out a slight laugh. "It's complicated, but maybe I'll tell you some day."

"Okay?" he said in a confused tone. "Forget I asked." He closed his eyes again and appeared to be putting the conversation behind him.

"Get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning." I said. I wasn't shivering as much as before, but I could already tell it was going to be a long, cold night. Peeta nodded and slid down the tree to get into a comfortable position on the ground. I decided to remain upright for the time being.

Sometime later, I managed to drift off to sleep, but I kept waking up whenever I'd hear a sound. A squirrel ran up the tree next to me, and startled me awake. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked down to see my legs were stretched out in front of me, and Peeta was on his back nestled next to them—probably to stay warm. The light coming through the trees wasn't very bright, but I could see Peeta well enough to just sit there and stare at him. He looked so comfortable, other than the fact that he was probably cold. I felt all groggy but couldn't find the will to go back to sleep. I tipped my head back against the tree and stared up at the sky, then let out a quiet sigh.

I felt like getting up and walking around, but the actual act of getting up took a lot more effort than just thinking about it so I stayed put. My lower back was aching, so I very carefully moved my legs so I could slide down, but Peeta stirred in his sleep and bent his arm at the elbow so he was now touching my knee with his fingers. I held still and waited a minute before I tried moving again. I held onto my skirt and slid down so I was now lying on my back next to Peeta. I looked over at him and saw that he was sound asleep beside me, with his arm still bent. His fingers were resting against my neck now, so I carefully grabbed onto his hand to move them to a more comfortable position across his stomach.

As my arm reached across his body, his hand tightened around mine automatically and he pulled me toward him. Then he rolled over onto his side, nestled his face into the junction where my neck met my shoulders, and threw his other arm over me. His hand was still clenching mine close to his chest. My heart rate picked up at this little turn of events, and I couldn't help but grin slightly. I rolled over onto my side so I was facing him and slipped my other arm under his so I could be closer to him. I immediately started to feel warm all over and the sleepiness I didn't think would come back was almost there again. It had to be about one or two in the morning, I realized, as I started to drift off to sleep again.

A couple more hours passed when I woke up next, but this time it was Peeta moving that disturbed me from my peaceful slumber. I opened my eyes to find him gazing back at me. Something felt different, but we were still locked in an embrace to keep each other warm. Then I discovered what it was that my foggy senses were trying to tell me. I felt cold, like a draft, but still warm at the same time. Peeta looked like he was as out of it as I was.

"Your idea or mine?" he asked me in a sleepy voice, then hugged me tighter to him.

"Kind of both?" I answered, unsure. I felt his hand on my thigh, and realized why I was feeling a draft.

Peeta's hand had pushed up my skirt a bit and my leg was hitched over his hip. He gave it a little squeeze.

"This is nice." He whispered.

"Mm-hmm." I said sleepily. I pulled closer to him, not wanting to let the cold night air surround my body. Peeta put his arm under my head so I could use it as a pillow.

I buried my face in his chest and felt the relaxing sensation of sleep approaching me again. Peeta took his hand from my leg and used it to push the hair from my eyes. Then he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek and let his hand fall back on my leg. I used my leg to pull him closer to me then. The night air was tickling my skin, but I didn't care because Peeta was keeping the rest of me warm. I let my eyes close again, but I didn't feel sleep come as quickly as I thought it would.

Peeta's hand moved to my lower back, where he was massaging small circles into it. It felt nice, especially since it was still sore from sitting up against the tree a few hours ago. I let a small hum escape my throat in all my sleepiness, and felt Peeta's hand harder on my back as he pulled me even tighter to him.

"Are you cold?" he asked me.

I smiled against his skin. "Not right now."

A few minutes passed in silence as he continued to rub circles. His hand was now moving up and down between my shoulder blades and my lower back. It was relaxing me; probably enough to put me back to sleep. _But I don't want to go to sleep, _I caught myself thinking.

His hand moved to my bare arm, where he seemed to be testing. "Your skin is freezing." He said as he began to rub with his warm hand.

"I don't feel cold." I said, feeling unsure. When I thought about it, I knew I had to be cold because the air was so chilly, but with Peeta next to me I couldn't really notice or feel anything but him.

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**Please review! I really want to know what you're thinking about the story so far. The next chapter is going to be pretty long, so even though this is short, there will be much more to come in the next one!**


	5. The Girl Who Was On Fire

**Hey everyone! You've been awesome with your reviews, so THANKS! This will be the last chapter of this story...but there is a very possible sequel. I just got done reading Catching Fire a couple days ago, so there's a story in the works for that too (Post-Catching Fire.) I will keep you updated on the progress on that! So let me know what you think about this one. You guys have been great! And please review!**

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Peeta held me tight as we both felt the temperature drop some more. At some point he pulled my skirt back down over my legs and was tickling my back now with his fingertips instead--the massaging had eased up as he got sleepy again. Still, this was even more pleasant and I felt myself start to get lost in it. His fingers flirted a bit at the bottom edge of my shirt, until I felt his warm hand against the skin of my lower back. It surprised me and I sucked in a quick breath.

"You're warm." I commented, although I couldn't figure out how I even managed to get a word out at all. This was so relaxing I felt myself almost drifting away from him and back into sleep.

Peeta just let out a solitary laugh. "And you're cold." He held me tighter.

Neither of us tried to keep the conversation going but instead just lay there in silence, reveling in keeping each other warm.

His cheek brushed mine lightly and I felt his hand leave my back. I protested by holding him to me even tighter. If we got any closer we'd be sharing the same body parts. _Interesting, that. _ I thought sarcastically to myself.

Instead, I felt Peeta's hand on my leg again, just above my boots, and it was slowly sliding up my leg to my knee, where his hand was moving up under my skirt, just barely--and going back down again. The cool air tickled my skin and did funny things to my senses. This was new, and I knew I liked it.

He whispered into my ear just then, and it tickled. "Is this okay?" He asked me as he continued the movement on my leg.

My stomach fluttered violently, and I only nodded in response, but he understood.

He continued raking his hand up and down my leg very slowly, his fingers dipping into my loose boots to caress the skin there. It wasn't just relaxing, it was--well, I couldn't quite find the words, but I  
liked what he was doing to me.

My hand left its place hanging loosely over his side and moved up to the back of his neck to play with his hair. His skin was cool and I stretched my hand fully across in hopes of warming it up. I'm sure my hands were cold but I tried it anyway.

His hand felt like it was moving a bit higher up my leg with each stroke, although very slightly--I'm sure he didn't even realize it, and I felt a chill, which caused me to shiver. I think Peeta took that reaction as a bad one because his hand stopped moving entirely and he pushed back enough that I could see his face. I felt sad at the loss of contact with his warm skin. My hand dropped from his neck and came to rest comfortably on his shoulder.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked me in a worried tone. He was looking down at me with a pained expression.

His other arm was still under my head but I raised myself up a bit and propped myself up on my elbow. He followed my movement and pulled back a little more, his arm still under me—now wrapping up around my back. I could feel him playing with the loose strands of hair that scattered across my back. I shook my head, and then whispered, "No." I gave him a tiny smile for effect. Right then he bent down to kiss the top of my head and brushed the hair out of my eyes. When he drew back I think he was trying to gauge my expression, because I could see worry in his eyes.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I mean—I know this must freak you out and all."

Yeah he was definitely worried.

But I wanted to take that worry away from him, and that's when I realized just how often he wore that look lately. Anytime I see him it's there, but I've never recognized it for what it was. That look was always there because of me. That was a painful realization to live with.

A million questions floated through my mind just then, and I thought of everything I'd done to deserve the cold shoulder from Peeta. I only had myself to blame, but I didn't want to feel like that anymore. I  
missed Peeta desperately and suddenly found it hard to keep ignoring it. This was just stupid. I was stupid. He was looking at me as I tried to sort out my thoughts. I must be making a face because he looks like he's about to go into panic mode.

I played with his hair just above his ear and brushed it back. My fingers lingered there, and then slid casually down to cup his neck. "Can I ask you something?" My heart started pulsing in my ears, and my stomach fluttered, which surprised me at first. _Now is not the time to be nervous,_ I thought.

My breath caught in my throat anyway.

He looked at me seriously. "Of course. You can ask me anything."

_You're too sweet for your own good, _is what I wanted to say, but didn't. I wanted to ask him if he could ever forgive me, but that didn't sound right. And then I wanted to tell him it's okay if he's mean to me. I deserve it. All in all, I was clearly having a hard time sorting through all the nonsense in my head. It was all so confusing.

"I've missed you, Peeta." I kind of just blurted it out, but I hoped it didn't make me sound completely stupid. My eyes dropped momentarily. I couldn't stand to see that look on his face any longer, so out it came. My gaze slid back up to meet his.

Peeta looked at me with only a slightly stunned expression.

"Well. That's not exactly a question, you know." It almost looked like a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. It could just be a trick of the light or the effect of being exhausted but I could swear I saw it.

I shoved him in his chest and he rolled over onto his back, laughing at me.

"You really know how to ruin the moment." I teased. A smile was tugging at the corners of my mouth now, but there was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing it. He'd only keep the teasing going.

"The moment? We were having a moment?" He looked over at me and tried to sound all innocent but I knew better.

I felt myself blush and I almost turned my eyes away from his gaze when he propped himself up on his elbow as well. Now we were side-by-side again, facing each other.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't expect you to say that. That's all."

"I guess I don't blame you." I said. I looked down and my hair fell into my face some. When I looked back up, Peeta reached out and tucked the stray hair back behind my ear.

I hesitated but I almost couldn't take it anymore. "You know, it's all right for you to be mean to me. I deserve everything you could ever throw at me."

Now he truly looked taken back. "Why would you say that?" he asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"It's not that I would like it, but I wouldn't hold it against you if you just let yourself be mad at me—or at least let it show."

He narrowed his eyes at that comment. "I thought we were past that." He stated flatly.

I let out a sigh. "I know. I guess I would feel better if you were mad at me."

"Because you're mad at yourself." He finished for me. "The only thing is I can't figure out why." I could almost hear the clicking of the wheels turning inside his head.

I thought about it for a moment. That pulsing was back in my ears and it was clouding my thinking. I couldn't think of a single thing to say that made sense. "Because I messed things up pretty good." That definitely didn't make the least bit of sense.

"Katniss, we've been over this already. It doesn't matter anymore. Didn't we already decide to just call a truce and put it behind us?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

I thought about the conversation we had earlier in the night—how he told me he'd rather be my friend than lose me altogether. I felt the same way of course, but for some reason I just couldn't shake the feeling that I've disappointed him beyond repair, and now I had to make up for it. _Because you care what he thinks, you big idiot. _I loved having arguments with myself. I sucked in a breath when I realized it.

Peeta caught the change in my expression and confusion spread across his face. "Is something wrong? Did you hear something?"

"No." I looked at him and quickly moved to a sitting position. I put my hands over my face and tried to block out all the thoughts racing through my head at the moment. Peeta sat up as well and put his hand on my back.

"Are you sure?" he asked me.

"No. I mean, yes." I stammered. Still, I just sat there with my hands covering my face, trying desperately to think. My skin felt hot suddenly. _Am I blushing?_

Peeta took my shoulders and turned me toward him, then pulled my hands down from my face. I turned away so he couldn't see.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft, soothing voice.

I couldn't help but look at him then. That voice always pulls me out of whatever dark corner my mind finds itself in. I looked into his cool eyes—eyes that were full of worry and confusion, and felt my heart rate increase some more. _Why is it so hard to breathe?_ He was still staring back at me, waiting for me to respond. I didn't know what to do, so I did the only thing I _could _do, and gripped his shirt to pull him toward me for a kiss.

He was surprised at first. I could feel it in how rigid his body was. But as soon as I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tighter, he relaxed and gave in to the kiss. I didn't know how I found the courage to just do it, but here I was kissing Peeta with all the strength and curiosity I could find within me, and if I wasn't mistaken, he was kissing me back. This was different than all the thousands of kisses we'd shared before. I felt a fire burning throughout every inch of my body, and desperately clung to Peeta as I rose up onto my knees. I had to be closer to him still. He followed my movement and wrapped us in a tight embrace as we explored this kiss further. Our lips parted at the exact same moment as we allowed the kiss to deepen still. This was the most intense feeling I'd ever experienced, and I hoped it would never end.

Suddenly I was falling backward, and Peeta was following me. No—he was pushing me, and I fell back onto the soft grass with him hovering over me, his lips still connected to mine, and his hands on either side of my head. My hands moved from around his neck to his face as I tried to pull him that much closer. This wasn't enough. I realized then that my knees were in the way and he couldn't come any closer. I parted them and he fell on me, covering me with his warm body. Our kiss deepened some more and his tongue reached far into my mouth. It was heaven, right here in the middle of these cold woods. I repeated the gesture and heard a slight moan escape from the back of his throat.

I was on fire.

My hands travelled down his sides to pull his shirt up. I felt the warm skin under there and felt like exploring. My senses were being taken over by him and I felt extremely dizzy, but his skin was smooth and I could feel the muscles present in his back and sides. This ignited the wild fire within me some more. _I am the girl on fire, in the most literal sense. _I thought to myself. I smiled against Peeta's mouth, and could hear his breathing pick up. Suddenly, he pulled away and hovered over me again. He was breathing hard and also staring at me with those piercing eyes.

"What has gotten into you?" he panted.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I tried pulling him back down. He wouldn't move. He was still staring, waiting for an answer.

The words slipped from my mouth before I could even stop myself. "I'm in love with you, Peeta." It sounded extremely matter-of-fact coming out of my mouth.

"What?" he asked all confused.

I pulled myself up a bit with a sigh and used my elbows to anchor me up off the ground. "I just realized something."

His eyebrows shot up.

"I've been punishing myself for what happened between us, after the games, because I wanted to feel the pain you were feeling."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense, Katniss."

"I know. And I just realized the reason why I feel like that."

"And why's that?"

"Because I can't stand to see you hurting. I love you too much."

Now he wasn't questioning me. He just looked down at me with a look I couldn't quite decipher. Instead of pushing the matter, I just waited. I wasn't sure how he'd use this bit of information. While I stared into his eyes, I saw them close. My stomach dropped out of my toes in an instant.

"Okay," I started, "maybe that was too much too fast." My voice was barely a whisper and I started to pull myself back up to a full sitting position.

Peeta put his hands on my shoulders and stopped me when I was only inches from his face.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that." He said in a whisper. His expression transformed into a gentle smile, and he leaned back in to kiss me.

This time our kiss wasn't as eager or desperate as before. I was set ablaze once again, and Peeta lowered us back to the ground gently. This time we were softer with each other, letting our caresses feel more loving and patient instead of rushed and wild. It was even more heavenly before. All I wanted to do was kiss him and never let go. All my worries melted away, as did his, and he finally pulled back to look at me. He rolled us onto our sides, so that we were facing each other, and brushed the hair back from my face. He was good at that.

"I love you too, Katniss." He whispered, and then pulled me into him tightly.

I nuzzled my face into his chest and let a smile escape my lips. I kissed his shirt there, and he kissed the top of my head. Sleep overtook us quickly. Tomorrow we would sort through the business with the Capitol and all the trouble they could be brewing at this very moment. But right now all that mattered was the two of us. This new strength would help us get through whatever came our way. I wasn't ever too sure of too many things in my life, being that so many things are given and then taken swiftly away, as evidenced by my father's death years ago—but I knew I could do just about anything as long as I had Peeta beside me. And that truly put calm in my heart.

_To be continued..._

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**It has been recently decided that there _will_ be a sequel to this afterall!!! And it is called _Abandoned_. Keep an eye out for it because the first part of it will be done very soon... PLEASE REVIEW!**


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